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Industry & Manufacturing

The Museum's collections document centuries of remarkable changes in products, manufacturing processes, and the role of industry in American life. In the bargain, they preserve artifacts of great ingenuity, intricacy, and sometimes beauty.

The carding and spinning machinery built by Samuel Slater about 1790 helped establish the New England textile industry. Nylon-manufacturing machinery in the collections helped remake the same industry more than a century later. Machine tools from the 1850s are joined by a machine that produces computer chips. Thousands of patent models document the creativity of American innovators over more than 200 years.

The collections reach far beyond tools and machines. Some 460 episodes of the television series Industry on Parade celebrate American industry in the 1950s. Numerous photographic collections are a reminder of the scale and even the glamour of American industry.

This mining lamp is a “Guy’s Dropper” model made by the Shanklin Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Illinois, first manufactured in 1913. The lamp is named after its inventor, Frank Guy, a miner from Springfield. Frank Guy partnered with George and Edgar Shanklin to produce this lamp, and the lamp saw tremendous success through World War I. The Shanklin Mfg. Co. was sold to the Universal Lamp Company in 1932, who continued to make "Guy's Dropper."

This is a copper oil-wick cap lamp made by J&A McDougall of Pittston, Pennsylvania likely in the latter half of the 20th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.

This tin oil-wick cap lamp was used in the Wyoming Valley Region of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The manufacturer is unknown, but it was likely made in the latter half of the 19th century. The font contained a mix of lard and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting light was much brighter than the candles it replaced.

This lamp is an oil-wick cap lamp. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and remained in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting light was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.

This tin oil-wick lamp was manufactured by the Leonard Brothers of Scranton, Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. The Leonard Bros. (also known as T.F. Leonard Co.) advertised their lamps in the 1882 “Engineering and Mining Journal” as being available with three different spout sizes, made of seamless brass without any soldering. This particular lamp seems to have one of the larger spouts.

This tin oil-wick mining lamp was manufactured by F.W. Watson & Co. of Scranton, Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. Mr. Watson was a prominent member of the Scranton community, serving as chief engineer of the Scranton Fire Department. According to the "Wilkes-Barre Scranton Statistical and Trade Review" of 1881 his company was known for its quality metalwork, such as plumbing, stoves, and steam fittings.

This lamp was manufactured by J.W. Queen and Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the latter half of the 19th century. The “safety” mining lamp was a tremendous step forward in preventing mining disasters. Encasing the flame in glass or metal gauze prevented combustible mine gases (called firedamp) from exploding, which would happen with the open flames in oil-wick cap lamps.

This lamp was worn on the harness of a mining mule and would have been in use from about 1850-1900. Mules were used in the mining tunnels to haul ore to the surface. Some mules would spend their whole lives underground, even being stabled there. The metal casing surrounding the oil-wick lamp served to protect the mule from the flame.

This oil-wick cap lamp was made by Jacob Vogle of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, in the late 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting light was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.

This safety lamp was manufactured in the latter half of the 19th century by J.W. Queen & Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This Clanny style safety lamp employs a wire gauze and a glass globe surrounding the wick to protect the flame. Safety lamps were invented in the early 19th century, and are used to this day for gas detection, even as mine lighting has been replaced by electric lights.